Advice services help improve health

We lead two consortia of grass roots community organisations that deliver advice from GP practices – in Hackney and Tower Hamlets. This is so medical services can focus on medicine – assured that their patients can access advice and support for a wide range of problems that also affect patients health.

Our advisors offer professional advice on welfare, benefits, debt, housing and form filling. They are well networked and able to refer people for specialist legal support and signpost into networks of other ‘social prescribing’ and employability opportunities.

Our approach is person centred. We listen, take a holistic approach and action plan with people. Our advisors can speak a wide range of languages, this includes Bengali, Urdu, Turkish, Kurdish and Chinese. They also ensure culture and faith is understood in the advice process. Our aim it to support people to become more resilient – more able to deal with challenges in the future. We bring hope when people don’t know where to turn.

GP’s can focus on medical support when our community partners deliver professional and practical advice from GP practices – Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

Quotes from GP practices we work with;

“It's so useful that the advice service is held in the GP surgery, the patient’s gets valuable advice which is very convenient for them to access.” Dimitar Pisanov – Assistant Practice manager at Chrisp Street Health Centre.

‘’To be able to address the health of Tower Hamlets residents, their financial situation often needs addressing first. We need many more welfare advisors in GP Surgeries as the demand is increasing. Patients often come to us as they are unable to queue for drop in sessions due to their health conditions’’. Dr L. Vaughan, GP at Mission Practice

"Working at the Greenhouse, a practice for homeless patients, we have some of the most deprived patients in hackney. Social Action for Health manage and provide a vital lifeline for our patients, who are often excluded from other services and otherwise have nowhere to turn to for advice." Dr Khalil Hassanally - Greenhouse Practice

‘’We see more and more vulnerable patients that are not able to navigate the welfare system. To be able to book them in with a welfare advisor in the GP Surgery is very reassuring for us. Welfare advisors have the knowledge that empowers the patient. We do not possess this knowledge or have the skills to navigate the increasingly complex benefit system. The appointments with the advisor reduces anxiety about benefits and financial worries and makes a massive impact on their medical health’’. Dr. F. Kennedy, GP at Mission Practice

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Related

Achievements - Patient Leaders(Cohort 1)
The Patient Leadership Programme was launched in April 2014.
The aim was to provide a programme of training and developmental support to a small group of Tower Hamlets residents to enable them to take on leadership roles in local health and social care context.
This is the information was gathered through the evaluation of Cohort 1.

Since 2015, Social Action for Health has been a community delivery partner in East London Genes & Health – an internationally acclaimed piece of research that aims to reduce the particular health inequalities that affect South Asian populations. Queen Mary University London are the lead partner in developing this project that aims to build an accessible bio-data bank as the basis for research now and over the next decades.

Our advice services offer professional advice on welfare, housing and debt related issues. The advisors are well networked and able to refer people for specialist legal support and sign posting into networks of other social prescribing and employability opportunities.

We are based in Hackney but operate across London supporting local people to lead in their communities and engage and facilitate in their mother tongue. We also have workshop and activist working space in Tower Hamlets.

Our advice services offer professional advice on welfare, housing and debt related issues. The advisors are well networked and able to refer people for specialist legal support and sign posting into networks of other social prescribing and employability opportunities.

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Need to speak to us?. We always welcome feedback and comments. You can just drop in to us or call us. We'll be happy to see you.

Our office hours are:

Monday - Friday : 10.00 - 17.00

Ment House 1C Mentmore Terrace Hackney London, E8 3DQ

Tel: 020 8510 1970

Our office is situated two minutes walk from London Fields and one minutes walk from Mare Street. Buses that stop close by are: 277, 26, 106, 254, 55, 48, 236, 106 and D6. London Fields Overground station is one minute away and Hackney Overground station is just a quick bus ride.